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Analgesic effects of butorphanol tartrate and phenylbutazone administered alone and in combination in young horses undergoing routine castration.
Abstract: To compare the analgesic efficacy of administration of butorphanol tartrate, phenylbutazone, or both drugs in combination in colts undergoing routine castration. Methods: Randomized controlled clinical trial. Methods: 36 client-owned colts. Methods: Horses received treatment with butorphanol alone (0.05 mg/kg [0.023 mg/lb], IM, prior to surgery and then q 4 h for 24 hours), phenylbutazone alone (4.4 mg/kg [2.0 mg/lb], IV, prior to surgery and then 2.2 mg/kg [1.0 mg/lb], PO, q 12 h for 3 days), or butorphanol and phenylbutazone at the aforementioned dosages (12 horses/group). For single-drug-treated horses, appropriate placebos were administered to balance treatment protocols among groups. All horses were anesthetized, and lidocaine hydrochloride was injected into each testis. Physical and physiological variables, plasma cortisol concentration, body weight, and water consumption were assessed before and at intervals after surgery, and induction of and recovery from anesthesia were subjectively characterized. Observers assessed signs of pain by use of a visual analogue scale and a numerical rating scale. Results: Significant changes in gastrointestinal sounds, fecal output, and plasma cortisol concentrations were evident in each treatment group over time, compared with preoperative values. At any time point, assessed variables and signs of pain did not differ significantly among groups, although the duration of recumbency after surgery was longest for the butorphanol-phenylbutazone-treated horses. Conclusions: With intratesticular injections of lidocaine, administration of butorphanol to anesthetized young horses undergoing routine castration had the same apparent analgesic effect as phenylbutazone treatment. Combined butorphanolphenylbutazone treatment was not apparently superior to either drug used alone.
Publication Date: 2009-11-17 PubMed ID: 19912042DOI: 10.2460/javma.235.10.1194Google Scholar: Lookup The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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This research paper evaluates whether using a combined treatment of butorphanol tartrate and phenylbutazone offers greater pain relief for young horses undergoing castration, compared to using either drug on its own. The study found that both drugs were equally effective at providing analgesia and that combining them did not improve their pain-relieving effects.
Study Design and Procedure
- The research was conducted as a randomized controlled clinical trial on 36 client-owned colts undergoing routine castration.
- Each horse received either butorphanol alone, phenylbutazone alone, or a combination of both drugs at specified dosages.
- To ensure consistency among treatment groups, single-drug-treated horses were also given appropriate placebos.
- All horses were anesthetized, and lidocaine hydrochloride, a local anesthetic, was injected into each testis.
- Physical and physiological variables, plasma cortisol concentration, body weight, water consumption, and responses to induction and recovery from anesthesia were monitored before and at regular intervals after surgery.
- Signs of pain were assessed using a visual analogue scale and a numerical rating scale.
Results
- There were noticeable changes over time in gastrointestinal sounds, fecal output, and plasma cortisol concentrations for each treatment group, compared to pre-operative values.
- However, there were no significant differences noted among the treatment groups in evaluated variables and signs of pain at any point.
- The time taken for horses to get up after surgery was longest for the group treated with the combination of butorphanol and phenylbutazone.
Conclusions
- The use of butorphanol in young horses undergo routine castration provided the same level of pain relief as the treatment with phenylbutazone when lidocaine was also injected into the testis.
- Combining the two drugs did not appear to offer any enhanced analgesic effect, suggesting either drug can be used independently for pain management in such procedures.
Cite This Article
APA
Sanz MG, Sellon DC, Cary JA, Hines MT, Farnsworth KD.
(2009).
Analgesic effects of butorphanol tartrate and phenylbutazone administered alone and in combination in young horses undergoing routine castration.
J Am Vet Med Assoc, 235(10), 1194-1203.
https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.235.10.1194 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA.
MeSH Terms
- Analgesics / administration & dosage
- Analgesics / therapeutic use
- Animals
- Butorphanol / administration & dosage
- Butorphanol / therapeutic use
- Drug Therapy, Combination / veterinary
- Horses / surgery
- Male
- Orchiectomy / methods
- Orchiectomy / veterinary
- Pain, Postoperative / drug therapy
- Pain, Postoperative / veterinary
- Phenylbutazone / administration & dosage
- Phenylbutazone / therapeutic use
- Time Factors
Citations
This article has been cited 5 times.- Maldonado Moreno N, Alves Moreira J, Araujo De Oliveira L, Sanches Gontijo A, Castilho Baldi ML, Rocha Wenceslau R, Beier SL. Analgesic and Gastrointestinal Effects of Methadone in Horses Undergoing Orchiectomy. Animals (Basel) 2025 Aug 11;15(16).
- Citarella G, Heitzmann V, Ranninger E, Bettschart-Wolfensberger R. Analgesic Efficacy of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug Therapy in Horses with Abdominal Pain: A Systematic Review. Animals (Basel) 2023 Nov 8;13(22).
- Gozalo-Marcilla M, Ringer SK. Recovery after General Anaesthesia in Adult Horses: A Structured Summary of the Literature. Animals (Basel) 2021 Jun 14;11(6).
- Abass M, Picek S, Garzón JFG, Kühnle C, Zaghlou A, Bettschart-Wolfensberger R. Local mepivacaine before castration of horses under medetomidine isoflurane balanced anaesthesia is effective to reduce perioperative nociception and cytokine release. Equine Vet J 2018 Nov;50(6):733-738.
- Dalla Costa E, Minero M, Lebelt D, Stucke D, Canali E, Leach MC. Development of the Horse Grimace Scale (HGS) as a pain assessment tool in horses undergoing routine castration. PLoS One 2014;9(3):e92281.
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